 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2013) |
The Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine (SCAJAP) [note 1] was an organization established by Allied forces in the occupation of Japan after the end of World War II.
Over six million Japanese were scattered outside Japan throughout the Pacific and Asian areas Japan had occupied with approximately 1,170,000 persons forcibly removed from their homelands in Japan who required repatriation. With over seven and a half million persons requiring transport by sea the remnants of Japan's naval and merchant services were required. Naval vessels were demilitarized and included aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, escorts and troop transports. Hospital ships and merchantmen were available for service without demilitarization and pressed into service. The ships were not in good condition requiring maintenance and repair using Japan's remaining facilities. Scarce parts were obtained from salvage of inoperable Japanese ships and personnel were available from demobilized naval and merchant mariners. Japanese resources could begin work transporting personnel requiring mainly fuel from Allied stocks. [1]
The Joint Chiefs of Staff on 15 September 1945 directed that repatriation and maintenance of a minimum Japanese economy use Japanese shipping to the maximum extent possible and that a survey of shipping be made. [2] The intent was to use Japanese vessels and assets in repatriation with priority for Japanese naval and military personnel moving to Japan. The Imperial Japanese Government was responsible for executing the plans as directed by Allied authorities. [3] Cargo ships were excluded from repatriation operations in order to support the wrecked Japanese economy except when carrying of personnel would not effect their cargo capacity. [2]
General MacArthur was designated Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) on 14 August 1945. [4] For naval matters U.S. Pacific Fleet Liaison Group with the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (FLTLOSCAP) was assigned to SCAP. Initial efforts to effect repatriation were undertaken under FLTLOSCAP until formation of the Shipping Control Authority for Japanese Merchant Marine (SCAJAP) on 12 October 1945. [5] On 6 March 1946 Commander, Naval Activities, Japan (COMNAVJAP) was established with SCAJAP integrated into that command which was physically combined with Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) with specific responsibility for U.S. and Allied naval forces in the occupation of Japan, both afloat and ashore and including SCAJAP. [6] The Japanese Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Navy, until that ministry was dissolved in December 1945, executed the directives of SCAJAP for operations. [7]
At the end of the war Japan was acutely short of large passenger ships. Only two had survived hostilities: NKK Line's Hikawa Maru [8] and OSK Line's Takasago Maru . [9] Both had served as hospital ships and SCAJAP requisitioned them as transport ships. [8] [9]
On 7 December 1945 a conference was held at Tokyo as a result of which it was recommended that 100 Liberty ships, 100 LSTs and seven hospital ships be made available to SCAJAP for repatriation. The ships were to be converted in Japan to carry repatriates and were crewed by the Japanese.
Of the shipping requested, 106 Liberties and 100 LST's were received, but only 85 of the LST's were retained for repatriation, the other 15 LST's being used to support the economy of Korea. On arrival in Japan, under direction of SCAJAP, these ships were modified to carry passengers, provided with trained Japanese crews, and put in service at a rate of 25 a week. Six of the Liberties were converted into hospital ships of about 1,200 beds each. Since total available passenger capacity of these SCAJAP vessels was approximately 400,000 by the end of March 1946, all United States Seventh Fleet shipping was released from repatriation. Over 50 percent of the total Japanese repatriation fleet, with a capacity of 100,000 spaces supplemented US shipping. [10]
An example of the use of a commissioned US ship, such as USS Pembina being temporarily assigned to SCAJAP, can be found here.
Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the American military with support from the British Commonwealth and under the supervision of the Far Eastern Commission, involved a total of nearly one million Allied soldiers. The occupation was overseen by the US General Douglas MacArthur, who was appointed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers by the US President Harry S. Truman; MacArthur was succeeded as supreme commander by General Matthew Ridgway in 1951. Unlike in the occupations of Germany and Austria, the Soviet Union had little to no influence in Japan, declining to participate because it did not want to place Soviet troops under MacArthur's direct command.
The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "militaristic nationalism". The position was created at the start of the occupation of Japan on August 14, 1945. It was originally styled the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.
The Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 800 ships, which includes container ships, tankers, bulk and woodchip carriers, roll-on/roll-off car carriers, reefer vessels, LNG carriers, and cruise ships. It is a member of the Ocean Network Express and Mitsubishi Group.
The Battle of Morotai, part of the Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of Morotai, a small island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the Allies needed as a base to support the liberation of the Philippines later that year. The invading forces greatly outnumbered the island's Japanese defenders and secured their objectives in two weeks. Japanese reinforcements landed on the island between September and November, but lacked the supplies needed to effectively attack the Allied defensive perimeter. Intermittent fighting continued until the end of the war, with the Japanese troops suffering heavy loss of life from disease and starvation.
Hikawa Maru (氷川丸) is a retired Japanese ocean liner that Yokohama Dock Company built for the NYK Line. She was launched on 30 September 1929 and made her maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on 13 May 1930. She is permanently berthed as a museum ship at Yamashita Park, Naka-ku, Yokohama.
Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) was a United States inter-service agency set up to analyze and assess Japanese naval and merchant marine shipping losses caused by U.S. and Allied forces during World War II.
The Take-Ichi sendan was a Japanese naval convoy of World War II. The convoy left occupied Shanghai on 17 April 1944, carrying two infantry divisions to reinforce Japan's defensive positions in the Philippines and western New Guinea. United States Navy (USN) submarines attacked the convoy on 26 April and 6 May, sinking four transports and killing more than 4,000 soldiers. These losses caused the convoy to be diverted to Halmahera, where the surviving soldiers and their equipment were unloaded.
Heian Maru (平安丸) was a Japanese ocean liner launched in 1930 and operated primarily on the NYK line's trans-Pacific service between Yokohama and Seattle. Shortly before the outbreak of the Pacific War, it was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and converted to use as an auxiliary submarine tender. In 1944 it was sunk by American aircraft at Chuuk Lagoon during Operation Hailstone. Its submerged hulk – the largest of Chuuk's "Ghost Fleet" – remains a popular scuba diving destination.
SS Op Ten Noort was a passenger steamship that was launched in the Netherlands in 1927. She was built for the Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij, who operated her in the Dutch East Indies. Op Ten Noort was named after the founder of KPM, Laurens op ten Noort.
USS LST-649 originally was a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship built during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1946 and again in the late 1952. She was sold to the Republic of Singapore Navy and renamed RSS Resolution (L-204).
USS LST-629 originally was a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship built during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1946 and again in the late 1952. She was sold to the Republic of Singapore Navy and renamed RSS Excellence (L-202).
USS LST-579 originally was a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship built during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1946 and again in the late 1952. She was sold to the Republic of Singapore Navy and renamed RSS Intrepid (L-203).
USS LST-613 originally was a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship built during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1946, and again in the late 1952. In 1976, she was sold to the Republic of Singapore Navy and renamed RSS Persistence (L-205).
Takasago Maru was a passenger-cargo liner of OSK Line which later transferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy as a hospital ship.
USS LST-652 was a LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. She was transferred to the Indonesian Navy as KRI Teluk Kau (504).
USS LST-657 was a LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. She was transferred to the Indonesian Navy as KRI Teluk Manado (505).
USS LST-120 was a LST-1-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. She was later transferred to the Republic of Korea Navy and renamed ROKS Munsan.
USS LST-222 was a LST-1-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. She was transferred to the Philippine Navy as RPS Mindoro Occidental (LT-93).
USS LST-277 was a LST-1-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. She was later sold to Chile as Commandante Toro (LST-97).
USS LST-218 was a LST-1-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. She was later sold to South Korean Navy as ROKSBi Bong (LST-809).
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link){{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)